How do I tell if my intercom can forward to a cell phone at all?

Have someone select your unit at the entrance panel. If any phone rings, your intercom dials out and can be pointed at a cell, a virtual number, or an app. If only a handset on your apartment wall chimes and no call is placed, it is a hardwired intercom with nothing to forward.

Who changes the number my intercom dials, and does it cost anything?

The building controls the directory, so you ask the manager or the panel's service vendor to update your unit's entry. It is the same routine edit made whenever a tenant changes numbers, usually free and done in minutes once the request reaches the right person.

Can the intercom ring more than one phone in my household?

Not by itself, the panel dials exactly one number per unit. To ring several phones you point that one entry at a number that fans out, either a call group or an app-backed virtual number that rings every phone on the account at once.

Blog / How to Forward Your Apartment Intercom to Your Cell Phone

How to Forward Your Apartment Intercom to Your Cell Phone

By Ty · 2026-07-06

Your apartment intercom dials one phone number when a visitor selects your unit, and whoever answers presses a key to unlock the door. That single fact explains every intercom frustration: the door depends on one phone being answered, charged, and in the right hands. Forwarding the intercom to your cell fixes the “I have to be home” version of the problem, and stops there, because now the door depends on your cell instead.

The good news is that once you know the intercom is just placing a phone call, you can do much better than simple forwarding.

How to fix it

Option	Pros	Cons
Point the intercom at your cell	Free, no equipment	You personally answer every delivery and guest, wherever you are
Google Voice number in the directory	Free, rings several phones	Someone still has to answer live, no passcodes, no entry record
Wall handset only (no forwarding)	Nothing to set up	Only works when someone is physically home
Replace the intercom with a video system	Modern app experience	Hardware, installer, landlord or board approval
Lowkey	Rings every phone you choose, plus auto buzz-in, passcodes, and entry history	Quick one-time setup with your building

If your building’s panel does not place calls at all, forwarding is off the table; the two-question compatibility checker sorts that out fast. And if your intercom already rings your cell but you keep missing the calls, that is the problem the last two rows solve, someone else answering is only a partial fix.

Where Lowkey helps

Lowkey is intercom forwarding done properly. Your unit’s directory entry points at a dedicated virtual number, and calls ring the app on every phone in your household at once, so anyone can open the door from anywhere. Then it goes past forwarding: automatic buzz-in for deliveries, 4-digit passcodes guests type at the panel, scheduled access for cleaners and dog walkers that expires on its own, and a log of every entry. It works with any intercom or call box that dials out to a phone number, which covers most apartment and condo systems, with no hardware and no changes to the panel.